West Bengal's Lockdown Plans After May 3

During a meeting with chief ministers from across the country, prime minister Narendra Modi said that lockdown will continue after May 3 in COVID-19 hotspots and West Bengal is likely to follow suit. 

Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee said on Monday that the state will introduce some relaxations in the safer zones of the state, while lockdown situation will continue in the hotspots, at least till May 21. 

West Bengal at the moment has 504 active cases, with 43 new patients testing positive till Monday evening. 

Banerjee, however, clarified that she would follow what the Centre ultimately decides regarding the lockdown. “The Centre is deciding on the lockdown, not us, but it seems like the lockdown may go beyond May 3, and we are preparing accordingly,” Banerjee was quoted by the Anandabazar Patrika as saying. 

Here’s what the state plans to do: 

In red zones and containment areas 

Banerjee said that the special restrictions that are in place now, will continue in the red zones and containment areas across West Bengal. 

This means that in Kolkata, Howrah, Purba Medinipur and North 24 Parganas, the lockdown will continue. 

NDTV reported that the state had a total of 348 containment zones in the four hotspots or red zones. 

The restrictions on the containment areas means a strict lockdown where people are not even allowed to come out of their homes. 

The Times of India reported Banerjee as saying that meant even shops will be shut in these areas. Essential items and medicines would be delivered to people’s doorsteps. 

According to the report, the government plans to aggressively identify more cases in these zones. 

What about the orange and green zones? 

There are currently 11 districts of West Bengal in the orange zone and 8 in the green zone. 

Reports suggest, the government wants to open up as many economic activities as possible keeping in mind the economic situation in the state. 

The chief minister reportedly said that the government was in talks with what could be opened up in green zones and what kind of relaxations could be introduced in the orange zones. 

The Telegraph report  said that the government was planning to allow work in sand and stone quarries, leather units and construction work. 

The report quoted an official source as saying 

“These units employ thousands of people in the green and orange zones. The units have to follow certain norms like social distancing, sanitisation and wearing masks. But the state government would not allow anything that draws large gatherings like cinema halls,” said a source.

However, this comes with a caveat. The chief minister said that a green or orange zone could be turned into a red zone if there are cases detected in them, so people have to be careful with their freedom. 

Anandabazar Patrika quoted Banerjee as saying, “The areas that have not had any COVID-19 patients are being categorised as green zones. If there is a case of infection in any of these zones, it would immediately be taken into the orange zone. It may be made into a red zone depending on the number of cases.” 

Mamata’s advice

While much of the decisions on international borders, state borders, rail and bus services remained with the Centre, Banerjee was of the opinion that everything should not be made functional at the moment. 

The Telegraph quoted her as saying, “The international borders should remain closed. No flight and train should operate. Inter-state bus services should be suspended till the situation gets normal.” 

The chief minister was also of the opinion that if shops remained open, like the Centre had suggested, more people will come out on the streets, making things worse. 

“On the one hand, the lockdown should be strictly maintained on the other hand they’re saying to open all shops. What should we do? There is a lack of clarity between what the Central government is saying and their directives,” Hindustan Times quoted her as saying.